Cultivating Change by Connecting our Church to the Community
A guest post written by Edwin Duenas, our partner in the Philippines
In cultivating change in our community our church only seeks to empower individuals and groups of people with disciplines that they need to effect change within themselves and within their families.
Our church initiates the establishment of relationships with the community through various initiatives that cultivate positive change or transformation at a personal level. One such initiative is our commitment to be one of the stakeholders at Pinagbobong Elementary School. Together with the educators and parents we strive to establish comfortable classrooms that are conducive to learning. We provide the raw materials to build the tables and work together with the parents and teachers in constructing and painting the tables. The students, the teachers, and the parents are happy when we deliver the plastic chairs that compliment the newly constructed tables. The teachers and parents alike are very grateful not only for the tables and chairs but also for the opportunity to be contributors to the effort of helping their children to have better classroom equipment. Through this initiative, we have established a positive working relationship with the teachers and parents who in turn relate to others their experiences working with our church. The students also are very eager and even sometimes forceful in asking their parents to come and visit our church and attend our worship services. When the parents come to church, they get to see and know us better by the three personal disciplines we teach: hard work, discipline, and respect. The youth are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the whole Dream Center and its facilities. We are teaching them personal responsibilities and taking good care of what God has blessed them with. And they are encouraged to practice the same discipline at home and we are very encouraged when parents tell us how happy and grateful they are that their children are part of our church where they are becoming obedient and helpful children.
Some parents are also now coming on Saturdays to help clean up and get the church ready for Sunday service. By teaching hard work, discipline, and respect we are affecting positive change one child, one parent, one family at a time in our community. We cultivate change by cultivating our relationship with the community through service.
If you would like to help fund projects like these, please consider giving a year-end donation to Mosaic International. You can donate here. We are so thankful for your support!
